Think Freezing Eggs Is Odd? Check Out These Strange Employee Benefits

by Brittney Helmrich, Business News Daily Staff Writer  

Facebook and Apple made headlines recently when they decided to offer an unconventional benefit to employees: Both companies plan to pay for their female employees to freeze their eggs.

Facebook started offering this benefit to its employees this year, and Apple will start covering it in January, NBC News reports. Each company will cover up to $20,000 in expenses per employee under its surrogacy and fertility benefit policies.
But although Apple and Facebook may be in the news due to their high-profile status, they aren't the only companies offering unconventional benefits to their employees. The following companies offer their employees some cool (albeit strange) perks, even though they may not be quite as controversial or expensive as egg freezing.

Forbes profiled 25 companies with unique, creative job perks. The list included everything from group travel outings to bring-your-dog-to-work policies:

    2HB provides employees with a $50 grooming perk each month to go toward things like manicures, pedicures and haircuts.
    Findr Interactive hosts an annual employee retreat in the Caribbean.
    Freeborn & Peters holds an annual "luggage party" where everyone brings in a packed bag, and four employees are randomly chosen and taken on an all-expenses-paid weekend trip to Las Vegas.

These were just a few of the interesting job perks on the list. A similar article on Business Insider listed 23 companies with employee perks that would make any nonemployee jealous. Here are a few on the list:

    DPR Construction allows employees to drink wine in the office, and the company's Austin, Texas, location has a saloon and hosts Texas Hold'Em tournaments.
    Integrated Archive Systems gives its employees $10,000 toward the purchase of a hybrid vehicle.
    Zynga gives employees free lunch, dinner and snacks, and has relaxation lounges complete with tons of gaming systems.

Business News Daily also profiled companies with unique benefits that keep employees happy and committed to their jobs, including the following:

    Netflix measures productivity by what its employees get done, and the company doesn't track their hours.
    The Institute for Integrative Nutrition offers biweekly massages and in-house yoga classes, and has a professional chef prepare organic lunches for the staff on a daily basis.
    Patagonia encourages its employees to take a midday break and play volleyball, do yoga, ride a bike or even go surfing.
 

Culled from http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/